Cardiff Met Rowing continues rapid rise with landmark Henley Women’s Regatta qualification

Cardiff Met Rowing continued its impressive season of progress as five athletes competed at Henley Women’s Regatta, marking another major step forward for a programme that has been rebuilt this year.

The Cardiff Met crew competed in the Frank V Harry Cup for Development Coxed Fours, heading to Henley with less than a week of preparation and with the main aim of gaining experience on one of the most famous courses in rowing.

However, the squad delivered far more than that. After racing strongly in the time trial, Cardiff Met qualified for the regatta for the first time in 11 years, underlining the rapid progress being made by the rowing programme.

The achievement followed Cardiff Met’s encouraging return to BUCS Regatta earlier this season, where the club competed at the event for the first time since 2022 and saw every athlete who attended reach a final.

At Henley, Cardiff Met were handed a difficult draw against Edinburgh University, a highly successful and well-established rowing programme that has won the event for the past three years.

Edinburgh had been 20 seconds quicker than Cardiff Met in the time trial, but the Archers produced a much stronger performance in the heat, halving the deficit to just 10 seconds. That margin equated to roughly one-and-a-half to two boat lengths, giving Cardiff Met further belief that they can continue to close the gap on some of the strongest university rowing programmes in the country.

For a squad still in the early stages of its development, the performance represented another important marker of progress. The crew’s ability to compete against such an established programme was also recognised by the race commentators, who were complimentary about Cardiff Met’s performance and the way the athletes handled the step up in standard.

Ifan Cox, Rowing Coordinator at Cardiff Met, said: “We went into the weekend with less than a week’s preparation and, considering the competition is of such a high standard, we headed over to Henley with the intention of gaining experience racing down the famous course.

“The women raced the time trial incredibly well and managed to qualify for the regatta, the first time for Met in 11 years. It cannot be understated what an incredible achievement this is.

“By this time next year, I truly believe we can challenge for a spot in the final and possibly win in this category.”

Ifan added: “The commentators were very complimentary about our athletes’ ability to compete with such a well-established programme, especially considering we have only got up and running this year.

“This regatta, combined with the successes at BUCS Regatta, meant that we came away as ‘ones to watch’. I believe that we have got a highly talented group of athletes in this programme who will be able to achieve some incredible things.”

The progress of Cardiff Met Rowing reflects the wider ambition across Cardiff Met Sport to develop outstanding, inclusive sporting experiences and create opportunities for students to perform, belong and progress as part of the Archer community.

With a landmark Henley qualification secured, BUCS finals reached, and a young programme already earning recognition on the national stage, Cardiff Met Rowing heads into the next phase of its development with genuine momentum.